Welcome to the Birmingham Mail daily news live blog, bringing you all the latest news, sport, travel and weather from around Birmingham and the West Midlands every day.

Our main story this morning: There was traffic chaos in the Midlands this morning after the M6 was shut when a lorry burst into flames.

The driver of the lorry managed to escape unscathed following the blaze which broke out at around 5.15am this morning.

The northbound carriageway was fully closed for several hours while fire crews and highways officers worked at the scene.

Huge queues built up on the motorway with delays of up to TWO hours reported, while surrounding routes are also jammed.

One lane has since been reopened but two lanes are still closed past the scene.

Stay tuned for all the latest updates below:

If you've spotted anything in your area, you can get in touch with us by email at newsdesk@birminghammail.co.uk or call 0121 234 5430. You can also reach us on our Facebook page or via Twitter @birminghammail.

Shutdown

We are finishing today’s live updates. My colleague Darren will be starting the live blog at 7am. Have a good evening.

18:35Jasbir Authi

Incident on Spitfire Island

There is an ambulance at Spitfire Island in Castle Bromwich.

The nature of the incident is unclear at the moment but traffic is beginning to slow down.

This will affect traffic coming off the M6.

18:17Jasbir Authi

More on the accident on the Old Quinton roundabout

The A458 Hagley Road West is partially blocked and there is queuing traffic due to an accident at A456 Quinton Expressway / Walters Road / Stoney Lane (Old Quinton Island). The accident is reported to be on the roundabout above the Hagley Road West. Allow extra time.

Traffic was already congested here due to the on going roadworks between J7 and J8.

16:53Jasbir Authi

First picture of man who died in Tesco

TRIBUTES have been paid to a ‘much-loved’ man who died at a Tesco store on Sunday.

The much-loved character, named by friends as Ali Hawkins, passed away after being found in the toilets of the superstore in Hodge Hill.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help his grieving family with funeral costs. Nikkie Louise Holland and her ex-partner Craig Clarke, who were good friends with Ali, launched the appeal on the fundraising website.

Travellers move onto Sainsbury's car park

Travellers have set up camp in a Sainsbury’s car park - after being moved on from Blythe Valley Park. Around eight caravans with vehicles are occupying the private land at the store on the Stratford Road in Solihull.

Police visited the travellers after they arrived on Tuesday but the group was still in the car park on Wednesday.

Situation on the M6 following HGV fire

15:54Jasbir Authi

Delays build up in Hamstead again

15:31Jasbir Authi

Bad parking epidemic goes on

Shocking new pictures shaming drivers who park inconsiderately in Birmingham have been revealed.

The Birmingham Mail revealed on Monday how officers in Springfield launched a second ‘zero tolerance’ crackdown after poor parking continues to cause mayhem in the area. Other readers reacted with anger and shared shocking images on the Mail Facebook page of terrible parking across the city.

Travel update: Second lane of northbound M6 could be reopened later this afternoon

M6 northbound J14-15 - The latest from Highways England: It’s hoped one of the two lanes which is still shut after this morning’s fire could be reopened soon, but resurfacing work is likely to keep at least one lane shut for a long time yet.

“We’ve been working hard to get the carriageway opened and the debris from the fire cleared as quickly as possible.

“We’ve opened lane three but, in addition to the debris on the road, the fire and a ruptured diesel tank have also damaged lane one, which will now need resurfacing.

“We’re hoping to be able to re-open lane two later this afternoon but we’d ask drivers to plan their journeys before setting off.”

Highways England operations manager Colin Lowther

13:03Darren Campbell

Travel update: Two lanes to stay closed on M6 for resurfacing work after fire

M6 northbound J14-15 - Looks like there could be restrictions on the northbound M6 for some time yet today. Part of the carriageway has been damaged by this morning’s fire as well as a spill from the lorry’s fuel tank.

Resurfacing work will need to be carried out on the far-left lane at the scene between Stafford and Stoke, with two lanes still shut at present.

There is also still debris on the road which has yet to be cleared.

Recovery work at the scene of lorry fire on northbound M6 near Stafford Services (Image: Highways England)

12:59KEY EVENT

Two dead in Wolverhampton stabbing

Just breaking away briefly from the travel news again to update you on the major incident we mentioned earlier in Wolverhampton: Two people have died and a third has been critically injured following a stabbing.

The scene in Wolverhampton (Image: @kerrylou85)

Armed police swooped on a block of flats in Leasowes Drive, in the Merry Hill area, after the incident at around 9.45am this morning.

Police helicopters and dog handlers have also been on the scene along with three air ambulances.

Travel update: One lane reopened past scene of M6 fire

M6 northbound J14-15 - Highways England have confirmed one lane of the northbound M6 is now open past the scene of today’s fire between Stafford and Stoke.

Two lanes are still closed between junctions 14 and 15 while extensive recovery, cleanup and repair work is carried out.

Recovery work at the scene of lorry fire on northbound M6 near Stafford Services (Image: Highways England)

Mercifully the queues have reduced with the volume of traffic that has already left the motorway during the closure, though it’s likely to remain slow while the restrictions are in place, so leave extra time for your journey if you have to go this way.

Jams have been reported on a number of surrounding routes over the course of the morning, including the A41, A50 and A51.

12:13Darren Campbell

Pictures: Fire crews at the scene

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service have shared these pictures of the recovery effort going on at the scene of this morning’s M6 lorry fire.

One fire crew has remained in attendance to ensure the fire is fully extinguished.

M6 northbound J14-15 - We’ve still got lengthy queues on the northbound M6 as we approach midday due to the closure of the carriageway between junctions 14 and 15.

The jams start almost immediately after junction 13 for Stafford South, where we understand the entry slip road has now been shut to prevent further traffic joining the carriageway.

Delays of at least 40 minutes are still reported for those trying to get off the motorway at junction 14.

11:43Darren Campbell

Statement from Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service on M6 lorry blaze

More now on the M6, which is still shut northbound between junction 14 and 15 because of this morning’s lorry fire.

Here’s the latest statement from Staffordshire Fire & Rescue, who remain at the scene:

“Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service responded to reports of a lorry fire on the northbound carriageway of the M6 at around 5:13am today (Wednesday 8 March).

“Three fire engines attended from Stafford, Stone and Eccleshall, along with a water carrier vehicle from Cannock.

“The HGV, which was fully alight, was located between junction 14 (Stafford) and junction 15 (Stoke-on- Trent).

“Fire crews worked to tackle the fire and once it was under control two engines left the scene. One fire engine from Stafford remains at the scene with the water carrier vehicle working to dampen down the materials and ensure the fire is fully extinguished.

“It was initially believed that the load contained tinned dog food, with tins exploding in the fire. However, upon closer inspection it has been established the tins actually contain sports drink powder.

Major police incident in Wolverhampton

Just to break away from the situation on the M6 at the moment, we are hearing a major police incident is currently unfolding in Wolverhampton this morning.

Helicopters, police dogs and officers in riot uniform are reported to be dealing with an incident at a domestic address in Warstones.

Ambulance crews are also in attendance and are said to be treating a number of patients.

We are going to bring you dedicated live updates on this story elsewhere on our site shortly. Stay tuned.

10:51KEY EVENT

Watch: Recovery work at scene of M6 lorry blaze

Recovery work is taking place at the scene of this morning’s lorry fire on the northbound M6.

Firefighters are working with officers from Highways England to try and remove the gutted vehicle from the carriageway, which is still shut north of junction 14 at present:

10:34Darren Campbell

M6 lorry was carrying tins of sports drink powder

A correction to earlier reports: Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service have now told us that the lorry’s load actually contained tins of sports drink powder.

The tins, which were initially believed to have contained dog food, began to explode due to the heat of the blaze which completely gutted the vehicle.

The lorry was also carrying white goods and grain. The fire was put out earlier this morning but the vehicle has yet to be cleared from the road.

10:22Darren Campbell

Travel update: Heavy traffic around Stafford due to M6 closure

M6 northbound J14-15 - The queues on the northbound M6 are growing. Looks like there’s a pretty big jam of drivers presumably trying to get off the motorway at junction 13 for Stafford South to try and avoid the closure further up at junction 14. Traffic is also reported to be heavy around the Stafford area as a result:

10:06Darren Campbell

Firefighters still at scene of M6 lorry fire

The fire on the M6 was put out some time ago but firefighters are still working with highways officers on scene at the moment.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to a report of a HGV on fire on the northbound carriageway of the M6 at around 5.13am today.

“Three fire engines attended from Stafford, Stone and Eccleshall, along with a water carrier from Cannock.

Lorry fire on M6 near Stafford Services (Image: Highways England)

“The HGV was located between junction 14 (Stafford) and junction 15 (Stoke-on-Trent) and was fully alight.

Travel update: Two hour jams on M6, delays on string of other routes

M6 northbound J14-15 - Now hearing reports that drivers are being held up for as much as TWO hours on the northbound M6 because of the closure following this morning’s lorry fire. Traffic is still having to leave the motorway at junction 14, which is causing other problems.

A34 Cannock Road northbound, Brocton - The A34 is now reported to be very slow-moving heading north between Sawpit Lane and Baswich Lane because of the additional traffic diverting away from the M6.

The following routes are also reported to be affected by diverted traffic: A41, A449, A50, A51, A519

M6 northbound J14-15 - The jams heading towards the closed section of the northbound M6 between Stafford and Stoke are now stretching right back to around halfway between junctions 12 and 13. Delays of 90 minutes are still reported.